For the sleeved folks, can you describe the pain post OP?

The pain was more discomfort for me.  I had surgery on Monday and stopped taking pain meds on Thursday.

however - I was running a low grade fever and generally felt bad.  I had extensive bruising and swelling - my pants still don't fit and I'm 10 days post op, even though I have lost weight.

i was surprised to be uncomfortable laying down.  No matter what I do the incisions pull and hurt and getting comfortable for sleep has been hard.

I did go back to work Half time from home this week.  I would not have been able to go back day 4/5 due to my fever.

good luck

tara

Thank you Tara!

I had an unexpected pain in the middle of my chest PostOP that affected my breathing.  It was pretty scary, and since it wasn't something that I'd read about much, the nurses saying "It's normal" didn't do much to make me feel better.  But it went away after they upped my morphine in the middle of the night. Apparently they had to cut the muscle of the diaphragm (which I wasn't aware of) and that was what was hurting.

The other pain that made things difficult was the fact that once home, even if I fell asleep on my back, surrounded by pillows, I ended up on my stomach.  It didn't immediately wake me up, so in the morning I was incredibly sore.  

I won't say that it's been a breeze of a recovery, but today is my four week post op day, and the pain is pretty much gone.  So it does get better, especially if you get up and walk, like everyone encourages.

My Doctor used a concoction ( I don't remember what it was but I can ask) that reduced the nausea and pain post op and it worked. I've been lucky with a super easy recovery. I felt slightly nauseated from the lingering odor of anesthesia, but I used the spirometer and it went away in a few hours. I was ready to go home pretty much as soon as I woke up, lol.. I had pain meds the first day in the hospital and none since then. No gas pains and I was able to sleep in my bed (gingerly) once I got home.. my insurance required a two night stay at the hospital. 

Good Luck for a easy quick recovery!

I had my surgery on April 14. I had some pain but nothing terrible. Getting up and walking helps alot even thought its the last thing you think you can do. I took full advantage of the IV pain killers right after surgery and then at home was off of the liquid pain meds 3 days after going home. The incision areas are sore and you have to be very careful getting up and down etc. I used a pillow and would hold it against my stomach when getting up and down etc. Helped a lot. They can give you a binder as well. Other than that pain was not a issue for me. I hope the same for you!

Hi Allie!

Thank you for sharing your experience and for the pillow tip, will try post op!

The fact is everyone has a different experience, so you won't know what you'll experience until you're there.  But the nurses will try to take care of any pain/nausea/discomfort you might have, so don't be shy about letting them know.

For me, the only pain I had was when they asked me to take a deep breath.  I had one sharp stabbing pain, then the drugs kicked in or something happened because that was it.  I was in more discomfort from my throat, which was very sore. 

Hello Gabby!!!!

I'm POD-6, sleeved on 4/28/16. In regards to pain, it wasn't bad, it just felt like I had done a 1,000 crunches straight. What was the most uncomfortable for me was nausea. I was nauseous for like 2 days, but it got better every hour. it came and went, but like I said it got better.  You'll do great, just remember that when buyer's remorse sets in, you look at the end goal.

wish you lots of luck!!

Hi Ray!

Thank you for your wishes and great tip! 

I know that everyone is different but for me the pain was not bad.   I had surgery on Wednesday and had my last pain pill early Thursday morning and never took anything after that.   The one thing that was worse for me was the spasms.   I had them every time I drank anything.     They probably told me about them and maybe I did  not hear that part.   The meds they gave  helped the spasms and about the middle of the second week they went away.  .  Good luck on your upcoming surgery.